Author: danspencer1644

(Oswestry Castle) Oswestry in Shropshire was once an important border castle in the Welsh Marches. Its situation on the top of a natural mound meant that it would have dominated the surrounding landscape, with its main feature being a great tower (otherwise known as a keep). However, the systematic destruction of the site in the …

Beaumaris Castle Beaumaris Castle in Anglesey was one of the castles built by Edward I after his conquest of Wales in the late thirteenth century. Construction work began in early 1295 with many hundreds of men employed on the project and huge quantities of stone, timber and other supplies sent to the site. Over the …

For a time in the early fifteenth century it seemed a real possibility that the Welsh rebel leader Owain Glyndŵr would succeed in fully driving the English out of Wales and would realise his ambition to be Prince of Wales. The failure of his rebellion was due in large part to the success of beleaguered …

Over the past year or so I have been on a quest to visit as many castles in England (and Wales) as possible. This has meant that I have seen some wonderful places around the country (although there are many more that I intend to visit). However, in this blog post I am going to …

(Dover Castle, Kent) In this blog post I discuss the research that I have carried out into the role of royal castles in coastal defence in southern England in the late fourteenth century. My findings have been published in full in the journal Nottingham Medieval Studies. To read more see, Dan Spencer, ‘The Castle at …